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IV.—The Queenes Majesties Entertainment at Woodstocke

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020

Extract

The unique quarto to which this title has been given was printed at London for Thomas Cadman in 1585. It crossed the Atlantic as part of the Rowfant Library, and was for some time offered for sale in New York, until Mr. A. W. Pollard, on his recent visit to this country, bought it for the British Museum. It has been privately printed in England, with an introduction by Mr. Pollard, to whom I am indebted for many courtesies, but otherwise it has not been published since the original issue of 1585. It is, unfortunately, imperfect, lacking sig. A (title page and three other leaves) and beginning on B1 with the latter part of a sentence. Apart altogether from its rarity, it has features of considerable interest, but before entering upon questions of authorship and interpretation, it will be well to put the reader in possession of the text. Only obvious errors have been corrected, and in these cases the original readings are given in footnotes. I have numbered the lines of the comedy for reference.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Modern Language Association of America, 1911

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References

page 94 note 1 he.

page 96 note 1 Full stop instead of comma.

page 97 note 1 though.

page 103 note 1 vnfulfulfilde.

page 103 note 2 this.

page 108 note 1 inquest.

page 110 note 1 lothes, hym him.

page 115 note 1 het.

page 115 note 2 this.

page 116 note 1 Whefore.

page 118 note 1 gods.

page 118 note 2 helte.

page 127 note 1 See especially the passage before the “posies” (p. 99), in which the author says he does not understand Italian.

page 128 note 1 Gascoigne's Complete Works (Cambridge English Classics), Vol. ii, p. 477.

page 130 note 1 Modern Language Review, Vol. iv, pp. 231–2.

page 138 note 1 Nichols, Vol. iii, p. 125.

page 138 note 2 See Nichols, Vol. iii, p. 48.

page 139 note 1 “He gave himselfe to Voyage and Travaile into the flourishing States of France, Italy, and Germany, wher soon putting on all those abillities that became the backe of honour, especially skill and proof in armes, he lived in grace and gracing the Courtes of the most renowned Princes of that warlike age, returned home charged with the reputation of a well-formed travellour, and adorned with those flowers of knighthood, courtesy, bounty, valour, which quickly gave forth their fruite as well in the fielde to the advantage (at once) of the two divided parties of this happily united State, and to both those Princes his Sovereignes successively in that expedition into Scotland in the year 1573; when in goodly equipage he repayred to the seige of Edinburgh, ther quartering before the Castle, and commanding one of the batteries, he shared largely in the honor of ravishing that maiden forte; as also in Courte, wher he shone in all those fayer partes became his profession and vowes, honouring his highly gracious Mris with reysing those later Olimpiads of her Courte Justs and Tournaments (thereby trying and treyninge the Courtier in those exercises of armes that keepe the person bright and steeled to hardinesse, that by softe ease rusts and weares) wherein still himself lead and triumphed, carying away great spoyles of grace from the Soveraigne, and renowne from the worlde, for the fairest man at armes and most complete Courtier of his times, till singled out by the choice hand of his Royall Mris,” &c.

page 140 note 1 Especially the first two stanzas on p. 200 with the sentence given in the text of the entertainment, beginning “A number of fine Pictures.” (p. 98.)

page 141 note 1 D. N. B., Ferrers, Henry.